[JURIST] The UK House of Commons and the House of Lords [parliamentary debate texts] Monday approved a draft order [PDF text] to remove the opposition group People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) [GlobalSecurity backgrounder] from the country's list of prohibited organizations. The votes confirm a May court ruling [JURIST report] that there was no evidence that the PMOI had been involved with terrorism since 2003 and that the group no longer satisfied the criteria for appearing on the proscribed group list [Home Office materials]. During the Commons debate, security minister Tony McNulty [official profile] said the government was disappointed with the court's ruling but that officials "complied with the judgment and have moved quickly to lay the order that the House is debating." President-elect of the Iranian Resistance Maryam Rajavi commended the removal [press release] and said that the EU should also remove the PMOI from its terrorist group list. AP has more. Alalam has additional coverage from Iran.

PMOI is Iran's main political opposition organization and part of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) [group website], an umbrella coalition of Iranian opposition groups. PMOI was added to Britain's list of proscribed organizations under the Terrorism Act 2000 [text] in March 2001. In December 2006, the European Court of First Instance annulled an asset freeze [JURIST report] on PMOI by the Council of the European Union. The judgment prompted the Council of the European Union to revise [press release, PDF; JURIST report] the procedures used in establishing and maintaining the EU's terror lists.